Аннотация:In the mid-nineteenth century, the Empire of Brazil sought to follow technological advancements in the construction and operation of warships, brought about by steam propulsion and advances in artillery, which soon culminated in the development of the ironclads in Europe and its first operational deployment in the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865).These military and technological needs were combined with a more active policy of the Empire in affairs with the states of the River Plate Basin, and, with the beginning of the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), began a first outbreak of military shipbuilding to meet the war demands, which included the construction of ironclads for riverine operations, employing the technology and knowledge accumulated since the initiatives of the previous decade.About ten years after the end of the war, another outbreak of military shipbuilding began, though without a war urgency established, but a noticeable technological gap in relation to warships built in advanced industrialized countries.The last ships built in this second outbreak wee commissioned after the Proclamation of the Republic (1889).The objective of this work is to understand the reasons that led these two outbreaks of military shipbuilding and finished both, analyzing this problem from the point of view of three interrelated factors: international relations, military needs and the needs of absorbing technology.
